Product Genius, the Podcast for Inventors, Entrepreneurs, and Startups

Don’t Re-Invent the Wet Wipe: How Private Label Products Can Help Inventors Get to Market

Inventors are supposed to invent things.

That does not mean they need to invent every single thing.

In this Flash of Genius mini-episode, Steven Julian and Noah McNeely explore a product-development shortcut that can save an inventor enormous amounts of money, time, and unnecessary complexity: private label and white label products.

The idea came from a real Product QuickStart conversation involving a new product with several components. One of those components was essentially a specialized wet wipe.

The client initially imagined a custom size and custom shape.

That sounds simple enough—until you ask what it takes to manufacture a completely custom wet wipe.

Suddenly one relatively minor component can become the most expensive part of the entire development program.

That is when private label thinking becomes extremely useful.

Ask Whether the Custom Part Is Actually the Invention

The first question is simple:

Does this component really need to be custom?

In Noah’s example, the unique size and shape of the wipe were not central to what made the overall product inventive.

So why spend a disproportionate amount of money developing custom machinery and manufacturing capability for it?

If the product can be modified to use an existing standard wipe format, an entirely different manufacturing path becomes available.

Instead of building the wet wipe from scratch, the inventor can work with a company that already manufactures wipes by the millions.

That supplier may be able to provide the standard physical product while customizing the formulation, packaging, branding, or other features that actually matter.

That is private labeling.

Use Existing Manufacturing Infrastructure

Many everyday consumer products require specialized, high-volume production equipment.

Wet wipes are a good example.

The machines that manufacture and package them can represent enormous capital investments.

A startup generally has no business recreating that infrastructure unless the manufacturing technology itself is central to the invention.

Private label manufacturers already have the machines.

They already buy the raw materials.

They already understand the production process.

They already manufacture at scale.

Instead of paying to recreate the factory, you pay them to make your version of an existing product platform.

That can dramatically lower the barrier to market.

Private Label Can Be a Component—or the Whole Product

Sometimes private labeling solves only one piece of a larger invention.

A device might include a wipe, cream, cleaner, adhesive, battery, bottle, or other component that does not need to be reinvented.

Other times, nearly the entire product can be private labeled.

Walk through almost any major retailer and look at the store brands.

Walgreens does not need to own a wet-wipe factory to sell Walgreens-branded wipes.

A grocery chain does not necessarily need its own soda factory to offer a store-brand soft drink.

A manufacturer already making the underlying product can customize it for the retailer or brand.

The same concept can work for smaller entrepreneurs.

Customize What Actually Creates Value

Private label does not necessarily mean selling a completely generic product with a different sticker.

Depending on the supplier and product category, customization may include:

• Formulation
• Fragrance
• Ingredients
• Packaging
• Labeling
• Branding
• Quantity
• Product combinations
• Selected features or specifications

Suppose your invention is a genuinely new chemistry for a wet wipe.

The chemistry may be the invention.

The rectangular piece of nonwoven material may not be.

Let an experienced manufacturer make the wipe while you focus your resources on the part that differentiates the product.

That is much smarter than spending startup capital solving a manufacturing problem that thousands of other companies have already solved.

Private Label Can Expand a Small Product Line

Steven and Noah also discuss another valuable use of private labeling: making a young company look less like a one-product company.

Imagine you invented a genuinely innovative hairbrush.

That may be a great product.

But when you approach a retailer, the buyer may ask what else belongs in the brand.

You could spend years inventing shampoo and conditioner from scratch.

Or you could find experienced private label manufacturers and create complementary products under your brand.

Now the retailer sees a broader product family:

The innovative hairbrush.

Shampoo.

Conditioner.

Perhaps other related products.

Your invention remains the centerpiece, while private label products help create a more complete commercial offering.

This can be particularly useful when retail shelf presence, average order value, or brand credibility benefits from having multiple SKUs.

Don’t Confuse Inventing With Re-Inventing

Inventors sometimes feel that using an existing solution is somehow cheating.

It is not.

Good product development is not a contest to see how many components you can custom engineer.

The goal is to create a successful product and business.

If an off-the-shelf screw works, use the screw.

If a standard battery works, use the battery.

If an existing private label wipe works, use the wipe.

Spend custom-development money where customization creates customer value, protects intellectual property, improves performance, or differentiates the product.

Do not spend it merely because starting from scratch feels more inventive.

Private Label Can Support an MVP Strategy

This approach fits naturally with minimum viable product thinking.

An inventor may ultimately want a highly customized version of a component.

Fine.

That does not necessarily mean generation one needs it.

A private label solution may allow you to launch sooner, test the market, build sales, learn what customers actually care about, and generate revenue before investing in expensive custom manufacturing.

If the business succeeds and volume grows, you can revisit the economics later.

Maybe a custom component eventually makes sense.

Maybe customers never cared about that feature in the first place.

Either way, you learned before spending the money.

Look for the Existing Industry Behind Your Idea

One of the practical advantages of private labeling is that these suppliers are often relatively easy to find.

Search for terms such as “private label,” “white label,” or “contract manufacturer” combined with the product category.

Private label manufacturers exist for enormous numbers of products, including cosmetics, personal care, food, beverages, cleaners, supplements, packaging, and many other consumer goods.

The important work is finding a supplier whose capabilities, minimum order quantities, customization options, quality systems, and economics match your business.

The Product Genius Take

When you break an invention into its components, ask a question about every one of them:

Do we actually need to invent this part?

If the answer is no, look for an existing solution.

Sometimes that means an off-the-shelf component.

Sometimes it means a contract manufacturer.

And sometimes it means private label.

The money you do not spend re-inventing a wet wipe can be spent on the parts of the product that actually make your invention special—engineering, prototyping, tooling, marketing, inventory, or launch.

Invent the thing that needs inventing.

For everything else, there may already be a factory making millions of them.